* New slim model has built-in ethernet, but is not able to store a harddisk (thus unable to boot Linux without netbooting)

+

* New slim model has built-in ethernet and an infrared receiver (uses the same IR codes as older Sony DVD players), but is not able to store a harddisk

== Running Linux on the Playstation 2 ==

== Running Linux on the Playstation 2 ==

−

At the moment, the newest Linux kernel version for the Playstation 2 is 2.4.17, which can be downloaded from the Sony website. The reason why newer kernel versions aren't available is because the Playstation 2 toolchain is too old to build newer kernels (GCC 2.95.2 and Binutils 2.9). Some people at PS2Dev have ported GCC 3.2.2 and Binutils 2.14 to the Playstation 2, but isn't developed to run Linux (only static ELF's).

+

At the moment (May 2010) the newest Linux kernel version for the Playstation 2 is 2.4.17mvl21, which can be downloaded from the Sony website. It is a heavily patched 2.4.17 linux-mips kernel. Patches were done by Montavista.

−

CHECK: One should be able to compile linux kernel using cross compiler running on a PC so it doesn't depend on gcc and binutils to be running on PS2. Independent of this even if GCC3.22 and Binutils 2.14 is already running on PS2, if I am not wrong the basic stuff should be sufficient to get the linux kernel to compile, so is there any specific issue which is stopping people from compiling the kernel using it.

+

The reason why newer kernel versions aren't available is because the Playstation 2 toolchain is too old to build newer kernels (GCC 2.95.2 and Binutils 2.9). Some people at PS2Dev have ported GCC 3.2.2 and Binutils 2.14 to the Playstation 2, but isn't developed to run Linux (only static ELF's).

== Bootloader ==

== Bootloader ==

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Line 20:

On the PS2 Linux does not run on the bare hardware but on an abstraction layer called RTE (Run Time Environment). The RTE was partly reimplemented as open source. The open source variant is called TGE (The Great Experiment).

On the PS2 Linux does not run on the bare hardware but on an abstraction layer called RTE (Run Time Environment). The RTE was partly reimplemented as open source. The open source variant is called TGE (The Great Experiment).

−

The open source bootloader [http://sourceforge.net/projects/kernelloader/ Kernelloader] loads the required RTE/TGE modules before starting the Linux kernel. For 2.6 kernels it may also be possible to append the required RTE/TGE modules directly to the kernel image.

+

The open source bootloader [http://sourceforge.net/projects/kernelloader/ Kernelloader] loads the required RTE/TGE modules before starting the Linux kernel. For 2.6 kernels it could also be possible to append the required RTE/TGE modules directly to the kernel image instead. On Kernelloader's project page there are some patches available for Linux 2.4.17mvl21 improving Linux compatibility especially with the newer slim PS2 models.

New slim model has built-in ethernet and an infrared receiver (uses the same IR codes as older Sony DVD players), but is not able to store a harddisk

Running Linux on the Playstation 2

At the moment (May 2010) the newest Linux kernel version for the Playstation 2 is 2.4.17mvl21, which can be downloaded from the Sony website. It is a heavily patched 2.4.17 linux-mips kernel. Patches were done by Montavista.

The reason why newer kernel versions aren't available is because the Playstation 2 toolchain is too old to build newer kernels (GCC 2.95.2 and Binutils 2.9). Some people at PS2Dev have ported GCC 3.2.2 and Binutils 2.14 to the Playstation 2, but isn't developed to run Linux (only static ELF's).

Bootloader

On the PS2 Linux does not run on the bare hardware but on an abstraction layer called RTE (Run Time Environment). The RTE was partly reimplemented as open source. The open source variant is called TGE (The Great Experiment).

The open source bootloader Kernelloader loads the required RTE/TGE modules before starting the Linux kernel. For 2.6 kernels it could also be possible to append the required RTE/TGE modules directly to the kernel image instead. On Kernelloader's project page there are some patches available for Linux 2.4.17mvl21 improving Linux compatibility especially with the newer slim PS2 models.